Despite its relatively meager financial impact, it was always clear the buzz (and high goddamned quality) of Attack The Block was going to get Joe Cornish into the studio directing game, with his co-writing credit on Tintin simply icing on the cake. Almost immediately he was appearing on action/comic shortlists for big films, reboots, and sequels, most notably Die Hard 5. None of them clicked, but turns out Fox was genuinely interested in working with Cornish, and he’s gotten himself involved in something much more interesting than a shitty action sequel.
Rust is a recent graphic novel from author Royden Lepp — apparently the first in the series — and it features a unique post-war world of robots and jet packs, all told with minimal dialogue.
Rust is a high-octane adventure set in the prairie lands of an unknown time. Life on the Taylor family farm was difficult enough before Jet Jones crashes into the barn, chased by a giant decommissioned war robot! Oldest son Roman Taylor struggles to keep his family’s small farm afloat as the area heals from a devastating world war. While the rest of his family may not trust the mysterious boy with the jetpack, Roman believes the secrets of Jet’s past may be the key to their survival.
The deal went down right before Comic-Con, so the official announcement will likely come with much fanfare at the San Diego. Oddly though, the screenplay comes from Aline Brosh McKenna, who is more known for her romantic comedy scripts like 27 Dresses and Morning Glory and even We Bought A Zoo. She’s been responsible for some higher-grade stuff in the genre like Devil Wears Prada, but still an unexpected match!
I look forward to seeing Cornish applying his Carpenter-esque filmmaking sensibilities and sharp sense of humor to this intriguing story. Let’s just hope Fox treats him right.
Source | THR